COLUMBUS - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dennis Kucinich said he would return $20,000 he was given for a speech from a group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Kucinich's London speech was disclosed in an updated financial disclosure statement filed last week. The speech initially was not listed on Kucinich's form, which a campaign spokesman called an oversight.

Kucinich's speech was given in London and paid for by the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees in Cerrito, California. That group is an umbrella organization for the Syrian Solidarity Movement, which opposes "military conflict and imperialist interests" in the country.

"Having only recently learned of their advocacy, I am returning their fee," Kucinich told the Cleveland.com editorial board in a letter. "I am not nor have I ever been an apologist for anyone."

Paul Larudee, treasurer of the group, told The Enquirer that the speech focused on "U.S. foreign policy with an emphasis on the situation in Syria."

"He’s not a warmonger and that’s exactly the type of person we want to sponsor," Larudee said. The speech was part of "Syria - Six Years On: From Destruction to Reconstruction" hosted by the European Centre for the Study of Extremism in April 2017.

Kucinich spokesman Andy Juniewicz said the former U.S. representative was paid to attend a peace conference. The campaign sent a copy of Kucinich's speech, which included neither praise nor condemnation of Assad.

"The Syrian people, who are not unanimous on the question of President Assad, are resolute in protecting their way of life, which includes free education and free healthcare, while supporting the Assad government from a military overthrow which would destroy Syria," Kucinich said in remarks shared by his campaign.

Kucinich said on Twitter that Trump's recent action was a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution.

"It is noteworthy that those responsible for the gas attack have yet to be identified. We are not free to bomb in retaliation based on suspicion," Kucinich wrote.

The London speech was one of three Kucinich disclosed in the updated financial disclosure statement. He also received $3,000 from author Marianne D. Williamson and $10,000 from Nexus Earth.

Kucinich, a former Cleveland mayor, is running for governor as a Democrat against former Ohio attorney general Rich Cordray, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill. The primary is May 8.